Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12.
My wife and I hope that our Blog may be used as a tool to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. We desire to minister His message of salvation to anyone who is willing to hear us. We believe His free gift of salvation is available to all, and we invite whosoever will to come and take freely of the water of life, Revelation 22:17.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Love with Expectations, Part 4

The final commandments fall in line after this. We shall
not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness (lie), or covet. If we
practiced love as the Bible defines it, then we would refrain from all of
these, because our concern for others, and our willful desire to promote their
good before our own would prevent it. Love’s expectation then is that we are
intended to behave like God originally designed us to.

Man was not meant to be
self-serving, selfish, cruel and covetous. When we demonstrate these traits we
are revealing what has gone wrong with man, and why the remedy of divine love,
shown by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, is so important a thing for us. It is not
in God’s character to do the evil things that come to us so naturally now; and
since God’s existence and presence defines what love would or would not do, we
must focus on the being of God to understand what kind of person He intended us
to be. Love demands and expects that one should pattern their life in line with
God’s revealed character; but this can only be done when one first believes
that God’s word is true, and that Christ is our Savior. When we are right with
our Lord we finally have the ability to be right with our fellow man.

Let us refer back to the concept of marriage. Numerous
times throughout Scripture (both the Old and New Testament) our relationship
toward God is likened to a marriage. For instance, consider this passage
written by Paul to the Corinthian church: “For I am jealous for you with godly
jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ,” 2nd Corinthians 11:2. Clearly then a disciple
of Christ has entered into a relationship with the Lord that expects certain
conduct both toward God and others. Jesus affirmed this when He said “Go
therefore and make disciples…teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you,” Matthew 28:19-20. Or “you are My friends if you do whatever
I command you,” John 15:14. Obviously, we cannot perform either of
these commands if we are unaware of who Christ is and what He has said
regarding our spiritual state and moral conduct. Does God have expectations as
to what we should and should not do? Most certainly. This is not a popular idea
today, when all inhibitions are being shaken off and self-esteem and
self-gratification are practically deified even within the church. But the
Christian should conduct himself (or herself) outside the moral atmosphere of
today’s culture. We must understand it to effectually communicate with those
outside the church, but we are not to partake of it. The standard of God’s
children has not changed since the first disciples went out, following Christ
our Lord’s great command to teach others. This must be so because God is
unchanging (Hebrews 13:8) in what He is and says, and we are commanded to have
the mind of Christ.

The legacy of what we hold to be right and wrong and
where the authority to base moral judgments upon has never changed. If a
Christian vacillates and comes to conclusions or opinions outside the pale of
the Bible then they have changed the foundation of their building, the
foundation itself (Jesus Christ) has not changed, 1st Corinthians 3:11. We refer
back to our initial question regarding love and its obligations. Does love have
obligations? Ask the partners of a successful marriage if there are obligations
which both observe and honor, not because it is forced upon them, but because
love enticed them into the relationship and love compels them still to keep the
interest of the other before themselves. The Bible is a constant reminder from
God about His unfailing love for us, but His love does come with expectations
as to how a Christian is to behave toward Him. We believe and reverence His
word; we trust that His word is our only moral compass in this world and act
daily, in practical living, upon this faith. God will be glorified and we may
receive the manifold blessings of being a child who honors their Father in
Heaven. My mother once told me when I was young that a marriage wasn’t a 50/50
commitment. It was 100/100 for both partners. God has already vouchsafed His
commitment toward us, Hebrews 6:17-18. Let us not dishonor Him by treating His
willingness to abide with us as though it meant nothing to us. It cost our Lord
everything; let it “cost” us our willingness to obey in the face of the world’s
disapproval and the shifting moral sands of the general consensus. God’s love
is enduring, and if we want to experience it to the fullest in this life, let
us understand and acknowledge the expectations that God has for us.

1 comment:

Too many believe we can serve the Lord with idea what he expects. In many cases I suspect they do not even understand why they needed to be saved in the first place, or what he died to save them from. Without understanding these things, how cn they make a legitimate commitment to Christ?